I can hardly believe that the new year is here! 2015 was one of my favorite years so far, so today I'm recapping my 10 favorite moments, posts, and projects.1. In January we made a Date Jar. I give you 15 creative date ideas in this post!

6. One of the most fun things in my blogging career happened in 2015-- I started blogging for Desiree Hartsock. I wrote this post about how to create a spring flower arrangement here!

7. I decided to open up and share my story, a snippet of my life and how I became a designer, on the blog. You can follow the series here. Also included are some of the floor plans I drew when I was about 8 :)

9. Running The Bloom Workshop has been one of the most fun and fulfilling things for Ashley and I. And what a joy it's been to do with my best friend! We've traveled to California, Seattle, Chicago and North Carolina this year...phew! Can't wait to see where 2016 takes us!

10. Putting together my apartment little by little has been relaxing and rewarding. I finally got pictures taken of it a month or so ago, so I'm excited to share in full soon! Back in November, I shared my dining room tour!

11. AND! Bonus, the highlight of my year (and life ;)) We got engaged just two weeks ago! I shared the proposal story here.

What a year! Can't wait to share lots of design-related things with you in 2016!Happy New Year! I'll be taking off the rest of the week to enjoy time with family, but you can follow along with me on Instagram. xoxo

I love when I get to work with friends, so I was thrilled to help my friend Danielle (and wedding photographer!) finish off her dining room with some big, beautiful art. With their mid century modern style, we looked high and low for something that would work. When we landed on this piece from Minted, we know that was the show stopper she needed! Isn't it a beauty?!

Don't you love Danielle and her husband's style? Here's a bit about it from Danielle:Adam and I bought our house last April, and didn't have a dining room table when we first moved in the house. We love mid century modern meets vintage eclectic, which is how I would describe our house as a whole. I'm all about finding good deals, so when it came time to find a table and chairs I couldn't make myself spend a lot of money, knowing I could be patient and find one at a garage sale or thrift store. Luckily only weeks after, I stumbled upon an estate sale on Craigslist that listed mid century items in the description including this table. That following Saturday, Adam and I drove out to Alameda with a truck and a trailer, waited in line for 1 hour ​and ran inside to make sure we were the first people to snag the table. Thankfully, we got it and only for $350! Not only did we get this dining room set, but also a matching sideboard that we use as a tv stand in our living room. Good things come to those who wait :)

For the paint colors, I wanted cooler neutrals, so we painted most of our house a cool white and then our kitchen a cool grey. I'm obsessed with brass, so I had to splurge on the West Elm curtain rod, because I couldn't seem to find a brass rod anywhere else. To balance out that cost, I bought herringbone drapes from Target in a lighter gray color. Our table decor is a mix of items used at our wedding and other thrift store finds. The brass candle stick holder and the milk glass vase were wedding decor items and a few months ago I bought these marble candle stick holders for $5 each at a thrift store down the street from my house.

Another thing we changed after moving in was replacing an old ceiling fan with this mid century modern pendent light fixture from West Elm (in brass of course!). I love indoor plants and having some natural greenery in the house, but finding a plant stand I liked and was the right size was tricky. One day when my mom and I were out thrifting, we saw this brass stand at Goodwill (I think it was around $10) which was the perfect size for the terra-cotta pot I had already bought at Lowes.

The finishing touch was this art from Minted! It was a challenge finding a large piece of art that we both agreed on, so when we found this and both loved it, we knew it was the one. Our living room wall is more eclectic, so we wanted to the dining room wall to have just 1 large piece of art on it since it's one long wall. We love our simple, mid century modern dining room and it gets used quite often for dinners, games with friends, and even Thanksgiving with our families this year.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We enjoyed the time with our family...it was so sweet.

I'm so excited to share our engagement story with you! This was the best day ever, thanks for my handsome and thoughtful fiancé (crazy to type that word!) I asked McCann to help me tell the story, so here it is:Michaela: For the week prior to our engagement, I felt like it could be coming shortly. A few clues came together in my head and I thought, this weekend could be it! (McCann got his hair cut, my best friend had me get my nails done...) But then the morning of our engagement came and I woke up feeling like it wasn't going to happen. I was nervous that I was going to be sad if he didn't propose, so I tried to talk myself out of it. I texted Ashley, my best friend, and told her I didn't think it was going to happen, and she proceeded to convince me it wasn't happening either (even though she was in on the entire plan!)A week before, we had planned to go on a walk at a local trail together, so I met McCann at our church and we drove together to the trails. Oddly enough, it was only 50 degrees and foggy that day (not bad, when this time of year in Michigan is usually 30 degrees and snowing!) We enjoyed a mile or two walk around the trails together, just talking, laughing and enjoying God's beautiful creation. I thought if he was going to propose, this would be where, but again, I had pretty much talked myself out of it at this time. The only thing that was a little strange was that McCann kept checking his phone for the time. This was odd, because he is never on his phone. I remember asking him about why he kept checking it and he said it was because his roommates kept texting him... ;)After we got back from our walk and McCann said "that's it, let's get in the car...maybe we can go to dinner somewhere..." I thought that was it. There was no chance it was happening now. We got in the car and started driving away when I said "Isn't this by the apple orchard where we met?" McCann agreed saying, "Oh yes, it is! We should stop in and see if they're open." He said it so nonchalantly that I had no idea of anything. After all, I was the one who brought up the orchard while we were driving by. I'll let McCann share the next part...McCann: I chose the Robinette's Orchard because it was where we first met (read about that hereand here) and I knew it would be special there. When we arrived, I brought Michaela to the exact place we met, right in between the corn maze and the apple tree rows. Once we stopped walking, she quickly spotted the photographer hiding in the corn maze snapping pictures and put the pieces together. She asked, "What is going on here?!" I told her I brought her here for a reason and that I had a question to ask her. Then I popped the question! She said yes ;)

Michaela: I was SO shocked and excited that this was really happening, I could barely get words out. I know I said "OH MY WORD!" about a million times. McCann said some really sweet words to me before he proposed and I really made sure to listen and remember them. I wrote as much as I could remember down the after we got engaged. After he proposed, I kept looking down at my ring, looking up at McCann and smiling so big. We are getting married!

McCann: After the proposal, we walked across the street to a loft/barn area that I rented out from Robinette's. Earlier in day, I was able to sneak off and decorate it with twinkle lights, a small table with flowers, candles, and two glasses of champagne so that everything would be ready when we got there. Once there, we celebrated with a glass of champagne and a slow dance, then were excited to FaceTime with Michaela's parents to share the news.

Michaela: This was the best day of my life (s0 far) and I'm SO thankful we had Melissa there to capture the proposal. With family far away in California, they were so excited to see the pictures and feel a little more a part of the entire thing. It's been two weeks since we got engaged and I still can't believe it's real. I'm excited to share wedding plans and inspiration with you in the coming months. Our date is set for September! More than anything though, we want to create a marriage more beautiful than our wedding, with God always at the center. I just love my beautiful ring. May it always remind us of the covenant promise we are making to each other on our wedding day.

Yesterday I showed you my parents' living room mantel and today I'm showing you the rest of the room! Like I said, I just love how this room feels, especially at the holidays. It's so inviting! Welcome to our living room & dining room :)

I was so happy to find peonies at Whole Foods a few days ago! We used them for a really simple centerpiece.

On the dining room buffet, we put our a pretty church that lights up at night. 2016 is going to be the year for weddings-- my brother is getting married in June, I'm getting married in September and my cousin is getting hitched in October!

On the other side, we balanced the church with a red tree and picture frame on our gold tray.

My mom did our tree this year and sadly I wasn't here to join in the fun! She got the tree flocked (not sure about you, but I LOVE this look!) then adorned it with gold ribbon and our favorite ornaments.

I've been home in California with my parents for the holidays for a week now. It's so good to be back and spend some time with family! I helped my mom decorate the mantel a few days ago, she decked out the tree herself this year (first year for that...so sad I missed it!) and we put finishing touches on other rooms of the house as well. Today I'm showing you our mantel and tomorrow I'll give you a peek at our dining room & tree.I just love the warm, inviting atmosphere my parents' home creates, especially at Christmas. It's peaceful, neutral, cozy, and feels sentimental; like "home".

My grandma hand-stitched each of our stockings and they're one of my most favorite things we get out at Christmas. The handmade element always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. We kept the mantel natural with greenery, a mini tree, a print, and some candles. Then we finished it off with twinkle lights.

Another favorite thing we have in our living room is our manger scene. The beautiful, white porcelain is so simple and elegant. THIS is what Christmas is all about. Jesus was born so that we may have eternal life with Him.

Can't wait to show you the rest of the room tomorrow! Are your halls decked yet?! Only three more days until Christmas!Have a wonderful day!xoxo